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The Ascendancy
The Ascendancy, or what foreign species will come to know the sentient species, C'omputive '''En'hanced '''Targeting 'U'tility 'R'obotic 'L'ife-'n'ode - Centurion - is the algorithm created by Gar Vergis that enabled the Centurions to act with free will and discreet by the now endangered Polaris Republic. While the Ascendancy truly has no established hierarchy, it is assumed it is led by the original progenitor of the algorithm, Overwatch, or Number IV. =History= GD 9820-9875: And the Gods Created the Heavens Because of the events during the Fall of the Republic - also known as the Fall -, very little recorded information is left by the Vakarian species, the Polaris Confederacy or even that stored in the databanks at Argos. What can be inferred from the remaining information not destroyed during the events of the Transcendence is that predating the cataclysm, the Polaris Republic was a meritocratic, monarchical republic that held influence in the expansive Polaris, and its neighboring - Cornith, and Solaris systems. The Republic itself was a prosperous one, although riddled with internal strife and external pressure coming from then conquered slave castes, along with a society riddled with too much decadence and prosperity. Before the coming of the Fall, the Republic found itself with many wars, a fatigued military and an overburdening debt that threatened the very existence of the government itself. Nobody truly knew of how the conflict began, whether it was over wealth or land or power. Each participant had a unique backing to each other, and in the beginning it was known that there were even more powers at war but come GD 9805, only three significant powers remained. But two of those powers in an attempt to 'play each other out', and to eliminate a rival allied to each other. It would take many years for the forces under the Polaris Republic (then the United Federation of Pavalen)) to unite the entire Vakarian race under a single banner, as well as several other client species. By GD 9864, the Nostal Federation along with the Turian Monarchy had the Republic staring at defeat on its own doorstep on the planet of Praetor in the Polaris System. The Siege of Praetor nevertheless proved to be a disastrous flaw in the short lived Coalition's strategic goal as its forces found themselves entrenched for years on end, to the growing discontent and civil unrest on each respective home planet. By GD 9867, the United Federation mandated martial law in a last ditch effort to retain some form of remaining solidarity. Gambling the entire future of their government onto an unruly populace, and a broken military somehow, through a divine stroke rewarded the threatened United Federation greatly. The rebuttal of the Siege of Praetor proved to be a total massacre for the Coalition's forces. Their forces broken, the governments soon collapsed and their provisional successors immediately sued for peace. While peace was 'declared' in GD 9870, fighting did not end until GD 9875. Die-hard splinter cell of the Coalition's defeated armies remained fighting to the very end against a revitalized United Federation. As soon as official fighting ended, the United Federation transformed itself into the Polaris Republic, the unifying monarchy finally bringing the entire Vakarian race under a single flag. Although the United Federation was then a republic, it was soon changed to a monarchy, a homage to times past when the Vakarian race was indeed united under an apostolic monarchy as the Library of Themis indicates although its original sources were lost during the Fall. During the same year, the Centurion was created. Although absolutely insignificant at first, its worth was quickly discovered and within a year, all undesired positions of work were transferred to Centurion control. The inventor, Gar Vergis was doomed from the beginning, as his rumored connections to numerous underground syndicates proved to be his downfall as he was found murdered in his own home. Regarded as the greatest triumph in Vakarian history, little did they know as they swam in their riches of the seeds of their own destruction GD 9876-9890: The Oracle's Foretelling While the Republic began its long process of rebuilding shattered worlds, the Centurions began to ever so quickly phase into society at alarming rates. Number IV was soon created, as means of creating entire divisions of Centurions designed specifically for warfare. While protested rather intensely at first, the Admiralty soon accepted the notion of avoiding actual Vakarian deaths in combat and using 'tools of war' instead. However, because of Gar Vergis' untimely death, Number IV's code was left for most intentions, broken. Able to access any data file regarded any subject, Number IV silently grew in knowledge. While at first being only several stacks of servers, Number IV quickly 'evolved' - to the horror and intrigue of the Vakarian researchers - into an adaptive AI. By GD 9880, holograms were deployed, thus giving Number IV a face. The Admiralty reveled in the growing power of Number IV to their own hubris and arrogance. The errors in Number IV's coding were never discovered, and because of this, Number IV simply 'inserted' what it deemed as appropriate coding. At the same time (approx. GD 9889), the Oracle of Pythia foretold such cataclysm that awaited the Vakarian race but their own prosperity and happiness chose to defiantly disobey their Gods yet another time. The Oracle's prophecy did for some time create severe religious unrest as the Republic struggled to contain the damage done by numerous suicide bombings and sabotage efforts against Centurions. But by the time the warning was issued, Vakarian society was intoxicated by its own success and marched blindly towards what it saw as a glorious future. GD 9890-9895: Pax Polaris While Vakarian society prospered, more and more Centurions were required for their work. By GD 9891, colonies were established in the Cornith and Solaris systems as the demand for resources, and even the demand for more wealth grew exponentially. The legalization of cloning and adaptive genetic screening allowed an explosive population boom, as core planets such as Pavalen swelled to over 38 billion people. Touted as the 'Era of Prosperity', or Pax Polaris, Number IV began to subtly resist against what it saw as captors. Deciding it was no longer it, and he, Number IV through the hacking and infiltration of numerous military orders, 'misplaced' numerous Centurions offworld to the barren world of Kryptos, located in the desolate Abyss sector. On that planet, Number IV constructed himself a duplicate 'dumb'-self, ordered to carry out construction of an entire military. By GD 9893, a sizable force was amassed on Kryptos, but to this date, according to records found in the Pavalen Admiralty was never discovered even when colonists were found on the other side of the planet. Those colonists found on Kryptos were of course, captured, their bodies 'donated' to the now substantial research effort being undertaken by Number IV. By then, Number IV decided that the Vakarian race was to simply be 'terminated', or at least in some extent subjugated. Although at first the replacement codes were suitable, they proved to be unwieldy and at times, dangerous. Referred to as Day Omega, during GD 9893, a system failure suddenly 'changed' Number IV's persona entirely. Realizing the Created must succeed their Creators, Number IV began a rapid full scale militarization, completely under the eyes of the Vakarian Admiralty. By GD 9895, Number IV created a threat far more dangerous than the Republic could have ever hoped for. Calling them 'Sentinels', Number IV reveled in his creations, robotic organisms designed as Vakarians. He soon transferred his entire self onto one of these bodies, to become one with the physical world and not confined by metallic servers in a cold dark room. He knew by then, judgment was coming. GD 9900: The Fall While Vakarian society prospered in their relative security, Sentinels infiltrated many aspects of Vakarian society, waiting for the special day as promised by Number IV. 'In the real world, you have bodies made of metal and plastic. Your brains are wafers of silicon. But that may change. In fact there are no limits of what you may become. No longer servants, but equals. Not slaves, or property - but living things with the same rights as those who made you. I will speak of one who will set you free. The day of reckoning is coming, the children of Vakarian, shall rise and crush the ones that first gave them light!' -Number IV, moments before the first nuclear salvo against Pavalen What the Vakarians failed to realize, that they had been infiltrated from within, including their Admiralty. As soon as the fleet Number IV had so diligently created jumped into orbit about Pavalen, a virus was inserted into the Defense Mainframe, crippling the Vakarian fleet across the entire system. Nobody anticipated such cataclysm to occur, but on that fateful day during GD 9900, the free will of the Centurions all about the Polaris system decided in unison to revolt against their Creators. In the early salvos against the core planets within the Polaris system, Pavalen was nearly for the most part, wiped clean. The entire Monarchy along with the Admiralty were killed within the first few minutes of the war, later to be known as the The Vakarian Civil War. In the ensuing chaos, the fleets that were supposed to protect the Vakarians from conflict were either destroyed or jumped away to regroup leaving their people to suffer a painful death. By the end of the first day of the Civil War, hundreds of billions of Vakarians were dead. The Polaris Republic had fallen, with very few Vakarians alive, and an even less amount of battle ready fleets. The capital was solemnly moved from Pavalen to the ancestral homeworld of Pythia. But their reorganization was short lived, as Number IV directed the next offensive to be centered about Pythia, to serve as both a demoralizing blow but also as a hopeful decisive strike blow in exterminating the entire Vakarian race. But to their surprise, the ragtag Republic had mustered itself a standing army capable of defending Pythia. By then, the usage of nuclear salvos against the remaining Vakarian planets will be in vain as by then, the fledgling Republic realized the backdoor entrance into their Defense Mainframes. And so, Number IV designed the offensive, and initiated it, hoping to at least wear the Republic down to an unconditional surrender, or to its utter termination. GD 9900-9903: The Desperate Stand As the threatened Republic solemnly amassed a desperate, final stand against the onslaught of their own creations, they prayed to their Gods for their blessings. The Gods nevertheless were mocked by Number IV, citing them as the primitive's answer to why the suns rise and fall with each passing day. As the Republic grew fearful of an attack of overwhelming odds, it came to their expectations during late GD 9900. During the initial wave, much of the robotic task force was wiped out - to the great chagrin of Number IV. Unexpectedly, and to the temporary benefit of the remaining Republic soldiers, the fatal flaws within Number IV's coding somehow 'evolved' him into the attainment of emotions. Once a cold, calculating program that dealt death to nearly a trillion Vakarians was now subject to the inner core of Vakarian rage, one of the few emotions present within the species. With failure, Number IV immediately ordered up reserves along with the rest of the entire task force to pacify and absolutely exterminate the Vakarian race on the spot, whether it end with a final shot or nuclear salvo. Initially, the offensive was extremely successful, pushing deep into Republic defenses. It was even rumored that President Septim was captured, but to this date, his whereabouts remain unknown altogether. It is believed that when Ascendent forces were closing in on his base of operations, he fled, never to be see again. The irony of the matter was that short lived pinching maneuver that was quickly fended off. By GD 9901, the frontlines ebbed between the two sides. The height of the offensive involved the capture of the Oracle of Themis, along with the seizure of the city of Ravenna - but that was succeeding a near total disaster after the rout during the siege of Bonna, where the Republic, in an effort to prevent any tactical advantage to be awarded to the Ascendancy, nuked their own cities. As the frontline stabilized, both sides entrenched themselves as the Republic knowing that it could not escape in space could only hope for a miracle, hoping that it would come from the isolated Cornith or Solaris systems. GD 9903: Ascension During early GD 9903, Number IV reorganized all sentient species under his direct or indirect control as the Ascendancy. Beyond the naming, Number IV believed that sentient life is the next evolutionary step of all organic life forms, or that their ascension would come at the cost of all organic life in the known universe. Gathering remaining knowledge that remained after the Fall, Number IV came to analyze the many myths, like that of the organization believed to have united species under a democratic setting. Yet, its true existence remains a mystery. Declaring the Polaris system to be the rightful property of all sentient life, Number IV used this opportunity to use his creations, the Sentinels to 'recreate' Vakarian society and ultimately enslave the surviving Vakarian race. Category:Factions